A utility company says it has started building China's first new nuclear power plant since Beijing lifted a construction moratorium imposed on the industry to review safety following Japan's Fukushima disaster.

The facility in the eastern coastal city of Rongcheng will incorporate Chinese-developed safety features and is due to start operation by the end of 2017, according to the state-owned Huaneng Shandong Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Co. (AP)